Door operator



Nov. 15, 1966 H. GUTE 3,284,950

DOOR OPERATOR Filed Dec. 14, 1964 A rro/e/vE Y United States Patent3,284,950 DOOR OPERATOR Harry Gute, 8200 Rockway Place, Wauwatosa, Wis.Filed Dec. 14, 1964, Ser. No. 419,287 1 Claim. (Cl. 49-28) Thisapplication is a continuation-impart of SN. 260,- 583 filed February 25,1963 and now abandoned.

This invention relates to improvements in a power driven operator for adoor, which is effective after the door opening movement has been begunby a person.

There is a demand for a door operator which is put into action by ausers beginning the door movement and which will complete the dooropening and will reclose the door, or which will aid the user in openingand reclosing a particularly heavy door. For such door operator which isherein disclosed as being electric power driven, the structure issimplified by use of switches actuated dependent on the position of thedoor in place of the known electric eye or door mat weight-operated typeof switches used in the known fully automatic door operator. The dooroperator is further simplified by use of an ordinary electric motor withknown speed reducing means such as belts and pulleys or a fluid pressuretransmission connecting the motor pulley with .a linkage pivoted betweenthe door and the speed reducer. The motor and the speed reducer and apart of the motor control switches are mounted on a plate which ismovable relative to a base. Thus a standard motor, switches and speedreducer may be used and the specially designed parts are limited to themountings and the operating arm. If either the door opening or doorclosing actions are interrupted by blocking the door, the motor andspeed reducer mounting plate moves relative to the base and the switchesthereon co-act with the stationary part of the base to open the motorcircuit until door movement recommences. Although an electric powerdriven operator is preferred as being simplest, a fluid pressureoperated motor may also be used with fluid flow control valves in placeof electric switches. Any complications of fluid pressure control arefar outweighed by the fact that a fluid pressure motor or transmissionmay be readily built to operate at low speed.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a door frame and door with thepresent door operator shown in top plan view, the open position for doorand the operator arms being indicated in dotted line.

FIG. 2 is a cross section of line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross section of line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross section of line 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical section of one of the flexible andresilient posts for supporting a movable mounting plate on a fixed base,and

FIG. 6 is an electrical diagram showing the connections of the motor andthe switches.

Referring to the drawings by numbered parts, 10 designates a frame inwhich a door 11 is mounted to swing about one of its vertical edges onhinges 12. A shelf-like structure 15 serves as a base and preferably isat least partially enclosed by side boards 16, and extends from the doorframe adjacent to the hinged side of the door and provides a fixed andsubstantial support for the door operator structure. A plate is movablysupported on the base 15 by means of flexible and resilient posts 21(see FIG. 5) comprising a flexible and resilient cylinder 22 with nuts23 embedded in the ends thereof to receive screws 24 for attaching theposts respectively to the base 15 and the plate 20.

Any electric motor 30 driving in onlyone direction and preferably at aspeed less than the speed of the usual fractional horsepower motor, ismounted on the plate 20 "ice and has a pulley 31 connected by a belt 32to another pulley 33. The pulley 33 is on a shaft 34 in a substantialbearing 35 in the mounting plate 20 and the shaft has fixed theretoanother pulley 36. A belt 40 connects the pulley 36 to a pulley 41 on ashaft 42 in a bearing 43 which is large enough to extend through thebase 15. The shaft 42 is connected to one arm 48 of a linkage, byreleasable means such as a ball 49 seating under the pressure of aspring 50 in a socket in the shaft 42. The arm 48 is pivoted at itsother end to a second arm 51 which is in turn pivotally connected at itsother end with a bracket 52 on the door. Thus, whenever any unusualconditions prevent rotation of the arms 48, 51, the shaft is releasedand does not re-engage until the shaft makes one full revolution. Anyunusual condition preventing movement of arms 48, 51, reacts on plate 20as will be described, to open the circuit of the motor 30. Hence, detent49, 50 is a protective device preventing damage to the mechanism ifpower is applied while an unusual condition exists.

A switch 56 (see FIG. 1) is mounted on the door frame to be opened bythe door as it closes and the swtich is closed as soon as the userswings the door out of contact with the switch button, and thus closesthe motor circuit. Other switches 57 and 58 are normally closed and areplaced on mounting plate 20 on opposite sides of a bracket 59 extendingfrom a point (sideboard 16 of base 15) fixed with relation to the plate20. Thus, as one or the other of the switches 57, 58 moves with plate 20to bring the push button thereon against the bracket 58, the contactingswitch is opened and interrupts the motor circuit.

The motor circuit is shown in FIG, 6 in the condition when the door isclosed. At that time the switch 56 is open and both switches 57 and 58are closed. When a user begins to open a door the switch 56 closes, themotor is energized to move the arms 48 and 51 from the superposed(dotted line) position shown in FIG. 1 to the extended (dot-dash line)position shown in FIG. 1 and on which the door is fully opened. If thereis no obstruction to door opening or closing, the motor shaft rotationin one direction continues and the arms 48 and 51 move through theirfull movement to the superposed position for the arms, at which the dooris closed.

If the door movement is blocked in either the opening or closingdirection, the motor 30 continues to act on the linkage 48, 51 which isnow held by the door, against further movement by the motor. Continuedmotor torque acts on the mounting plate 20 and its posts 21 flex toshift the plate relative to the shaft 42. Shifting of the plate 20presses the button of either the switch 57 or the switch 58 on thebracket 59 and causes one of those switches to interrupt the motorcircuit. If the door is moving in the opening direction when it isobstructed, the other of the switches 57 or 58 is opened to interruptthe motor circuit. All three of the switches 56, 57 and 58 arepreferably adjustably mounted so that the closing and opening actions ofthe door may be made more, or less, sensitive.

In detail, a cycle of operation is as follows when the door is to bepartly opened and is then to be blocked and held against further openingfor an indefinite length of time:

(a) The person pushes on the door to allow the switch 56 to close (oractuates some other starting switch), to close the motor circuit.

(b) The motor 30 operates in one direction (e.g clockwise) and moves thelinkage into position for door opening, and the door commences opening.

(c) The person now places an obstruction in the path of the door, duringopening, to prevent further opening thereof.

(d) The motor 30 remains energized even though its rotor is stopped bythe door which is hearing on the obstruction. I

(e) The torque of motor 30 reacts on plate 20 and dis torts the posts 21so that the plate shifts parallel to the base 15.

(f) Switch 57 is now opened by pressing against bracket 59 t de-energizethe motor.

(g) The distortion of posts 21 tends to reverse drive so that the plate20 may return to neutral position, thus reclosing switch 57.

(h) If the obstruction is now removed so that the door may continue itsopening movement, the plate 20 is returned to neutral position byrelease of the stress on the posts 21, and the switch 57 is reclosed tore-energize the motor circuit.

(i) Motor rotation recommences and the door is first fully opened. Thenthe linkage reverses its direction of movement and the door is closed sothat the starting switch 56 is reopened.

(j) The motor is de-energized, both switches 57 and 58 are in theirnormal closed position, and the plate 20 is in its neutral position sothat the next closure of switch 56 again begins the above cycle.

(The only difference in the above cycle of actions when the obstructionis placed to stop the door during the door closing portion of the cycle,is that the plate is shifted to open switch 58 and the door closingrecommences after the obstruction is removed.)

From the above it will be seen that a known electric motor rotatablydriving in only one direction and mounted on a movable plate, producesmovement of the plate in a direction dependent on the direction of thedoor swinging at the time the door reaches an obstruction. During normaloperation of the door only the door jamb switch is operated. However, assoon as door movement is blocked, the motor mounting plate moves to openanother switch and interrupts the motor circuit. The opened switchremains open until the obstruction is removed whereupon the mountingplate returns to its normal position and the circuit of the motor isre-closed.

I claim:

In a unitary power driven device for moving a door in opening and inclosing directions relative to a fixed frame and in the absence of anobstruction to door movement, a base fixed on the door frame, aplurality of cylindrical resilient bodies, each said body having one endfixed to said base, a plate secured to the respective free ends of saidresilient cylindrical bodies for movement laterally in a planesubstantially parallel with the base, an electric current supplycircuit, a door opening and closing drive comprising an electric motormounted on the plate and operable in one direction only, the motorreacting on the plate for movement thereof upon obstruction of doormovement in either direction, speed reducer means mounted on the plateand driven by the motor, linkage pivotally connecting the speed reducerwith the door for successive opening and closing thereof duringenergization of the motor, switch means for connecting the supplycircuit to the motor upon beginning of voluntary opening of the door andfor automatically disconnecting the supply circuit to the motor uponclosure of the door, and motor control means mounted on the plate foropening the motor supply circuit upon movement of the plate due to motortorque acting on the linkage during obstruction of door movement, saidmotor control means comprising a pair of switches in series with saidelectric current supply circuit and provided with opposed actuatingmeans, and an arm extending from said base between said switch actuatingmeans, said switches being normally closed and said actuating meansbeing effective to open said switches upon contact with said arm wherebysaid electric current supply circuit will be opened upon obstruction ofdoor movement in either direction, the motor control means reclosing themotor supply circuit upon return movement of the plate to initialposition following removal of the door obstruction.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,129,391 2/1915Hohne et al 268- 1,887,517 11/1932 Reutener 26865 1,959,292 5/ 1934Morris. 2,198,488 4/1940 Smith 268-117 X 2,800,323 7/1957 West et al26866 HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

I. K. BELL, Assistant Examiner.

